My tomatoes got so tall last year, they were more vine than tomatoes. Is it possible to pinch off the tops to keep them from getting so tall? moderator's note: moved topic to more appropriate forum
And Welcome Snow1, You make us northerners soooo jealous........ Barb in Pa. Where they gave us Spring for the last year. LOL
Yes you can pinch out the tops of your tomato plants. I do it every year to make them grow bushier and less leggy.
Pinching out the tops encourages side growth which in Texas is a good thing. If you remove the "suckers" however, Texas tomatoes are opened to sun scald, so you want to leave enough foliage to shield the fruit. I let our tomatoes grow, but we have trellises that they can sprawl on. Tomatoes don't have to go up, they can go sideways.
I just let all mine sprawl and have an excellent yield each year. I am in NE Texas and mine need the shade.
Pinch, Pinch, pinch here in Wis. My tomatoes need all the sun they can get. They don't have to worry about sun scald, only frost.
